First cruise... so many questions, help me decide!!

Hi all. I stumbled upon this forum today while researching about an upcoming cruise. We recently were given a free cruise from a local casino. It is through Norwegian and we have a bunch of ones that we can choose from.

This will be our first cruise and it is a bit overwhelming when looking at all of the ships, ports, excursions, and everything else. There seem to be hidden fees and extras that you have to pay attention to. We are responsible for taxes and port fees and also the $12 a day "gratuity".

I am posting here in hopes that some of you vets can help me out. Originally when I looked at the ships I wanted to take the Breakaway or one of the very new ships. The problem is the only one that would work on our schedule would leave from new york, then to florida, and 1 stop in the bahamas. There would be like 4 days at sea which my wife was not fond of.

So after debate we are looking at 2 options. 1 is the Sun leaving out of Tampa and the other is the Dawn out of New Orleans. I see just a few threads down there is a long thread on the Sun. There is a trip report for the Dawn also so I will go through that. I am just wondering what you think between the 2. The cruises are basically identical but leaving out of different ports. Which one would you choose and why?

I have many other questions but I don't want to make my first post super long.

I've never been on the Sun but have been on the Dawn. It's a lovely ship. Are they both doing the western Caribbean itinerary? You can't go wrong either way.

yes they both go to

Roatan, Bay Islands (Honduras); Belize City (Belize); Costa Maya (Mexico); Cozumel (Mexico)

and they are both 7 days. They leave out of different ports and they go to the ports in a different order.

Is there a significant difference in cost of airfare and night before lodging at the two ports?

I've been on the Sun - a little smaller and not quite as new / fancy but I really enjoyed the cruise and would cruise on the Sun again.

Is there a significant difference in cost of airfare and night before lodging at the two ports?

 

I've been on the Sun - a little smaller and not quite as new / fancy but I really enjoyed the cruise and would cruise on the Sun again.

It is hard to tell because the cruise isn't until March so it is a little to far out to check Airfare. If I go based on todays prices it would be about $100 cheaper to go out of Tampa and the Sun.

Is the size difference something that is really noticeable? Being that this is our first cruise will we be missing out of stuff to do on the ship with one of these smaller ships?

We have cruised out of New Orleans on several different NCL ships for quite a few years. We always pick NO because of the the port itself. Arriving early and staying after the cruise make it two vacations in one. The Dawn is a fine ship and we are sailing her this December. Tampa is a fine port, but not of the caliber of NO in our opinion. Check for hotels early for NO and you can get some really great deals for rooms.

We have cruised out of New Orleans on several different NCL ships for quite a few years. We always pick NO because of the the port itself. Arriving early and staying after the cruise make it two vacations in one. The Dawn is a fine ship and we are sailing her this December. Tampa is a fine port, but not of the caliber of NO in our opinion. Check for hotels early for NO and you can get some really great deals for rooms.

Staying the night never really occurred to us. I was thinking about flying in in the morning and going right to the ship. It says it departs at 4pm, is it not advisable to do that?

I've sailed on the Dawn and loved it, however I haven't been on her since they moved Spinnacker Lounge to the stern or aft of the ship and added a few suites at the bow or front of the ship.

My family has sailed on the Sun a few times to Alaska and loved it.

If airfare isn't an issue - I would think either ship would be a great starting point to cruising. They are not like the mega ships (which admittedly I have not sailed on) - however they have many more activites and extra charge restaurants, and the need to reserve some (not all) of the shows because of the sheer number of passengers.

However, there are several speciality restaurants on both the Sun and the Dawn (extra charge) and there are also several good (included in the cost of the cruise) restaurants to enjoy reasonably good food. I never lacked for options in terms of food or entertainment on the smaller mid-size ships.

Both are beautiful ships...more of the classic style of ships compared to the more modern versions being built today with all the bells and whistles.

Staying the night never really occurred to us. I was thinking about flying in in the morning and going right to the ship. It says it departs at 4pm, is it not advisable to do that?

Many do fly in the same day and don't have an issue. I on the other hand always plan to arrive the day before, stay over night and then I have a nice relaxing morning getting ready to head to the ship without the weariness of flying and racing to the port if my flight is delayed (which happens more often than not depending on the time of year).

I haven't sailed on the Sun, but the Dawn was my very first cruise and I loved it! I've since sailed on the Breakaway, and as far as personalized service, the Dawn wins hand down! I personally prefer the smaller ships. Like others have said, I don't think you can go wrong with either ship. Hey...it's a cruise!!!! :)

We have cruised out of New Orleans on several different NCL ships for quite a few years. We always pick NO because of the the port itself. Arriving early and staying after the cruise make it two vacations in one. The Dawn is a fine ship and we are sailing her this December. Tampa is a fine port, but not of the caliber of NO in our opinion. Check for hotels early for NO and you can get some really great deals for rooms.

I do the same, I love New Orleans. I cruise out of there last November on the Jewell and have the Dawn booked out of there as well.

I have cruised on the sun twice and the dawn one time. I enjoyed all three cruises very much. However, the sun is my favorite ship, because I love the aft penthouse suites.

The sun is older and smaller, but those are the things I embrace. The Sun also has an outdoor restaurant, and the Dawn does not. I do not believe you could go wrong with either of those ships.

It is not unusual to pay for additional costs such as port fees taxes and service charge/gratuities or resort fees on trips for cruises that a person has won or received gratis. I know this from first-hand experience.

There are many many extras on a cruise that a person can choose to purchase or not. Some people call it nickel and diming. I call it ala carte cruising, which I really love. I pay for the things I want.

I hope you have a great cruise.

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I've never been on either ship, but I've cruised out of New Orleans before and if all else were equal, I'd do New Orleans in a heartbeat.

Staying the night never really occurred to us. I was thinking about flying in in the morning and going right to the ship. It says it departs at 4pm, is it not advisable to do that?

You are flying in from PIT in March I would fly the night before. You never know what the weather will bring. This year we cruised out of Miami in March and several people from the north did not make the cruise that day due to weather. We flew in from NC the day before and Florida was having severe thunderstorms and our flight was delayed 3 hours. You never know what is going to happen. Better safe than sorry.

Part of your vacation is the journey. Fly in the day before, enjoy the port area. There are several things to do in each of the ports. You will feel much more relaxed and not have to worry about missing the ship! :D

I have been on both ships and I like the Sun just slightly better. The ship has a front observation deck that is unlike any of the others. The views are incredible and it is accessed through the lounge on deck 12. :) I assume at some point in the future this area will probably be turned into suites and the observation area will go. :(

I prefer the entertainment on the newer, larger ships because of the variety. I'm not saying the smaller ships have terrible entertainment, it's just the larger ships have new things that have never been on a cruise ship before and having been on over 20 cruises sometimes the ship becomes the destination vs. the ports.

I think whatever ship you choose you will have a wonderful time! It's such a relaxing way to vacation and you can unplug if you want to. :p

Welcome to CC. I too found this board by mistake when taking my first cruise in 2002 and 13 cruises later with a 14th coming, it's the best thing I ever found!

I've never been on the Sun but on Dawn twice when she was in NYC. Beautiful ship. You can't go wrong with her. I would definitely fly into NO the night before or even earlier than that and enjoy the city! Don't take a chance flying in out of the northeast in winter weather the same day.

Honestly, if sailaway is at 4PM......don't listen to NCL telling you to get to the port at 1 pm or after. I usually get to a port by 11, get on the ship by 12. Unless there is some emergency or problem disembarking the previous cruise, they are usually ready for the new crop of cruisers to board by noonish.

I was at three of those four ports on my last cruise in January. If you take Dawn, you can go over to the port of call boards and find your own excursions, but I can recommend great ones in Belize, and in Roatan.....never thought I'd do it but I went zip lining and LOVED it!

22 Years ago I took my first vacation without my parents. I cant remember what we did for info back then. I guess I went to AAA and got a book. It is so great to have boards like this to make you feel more comfortable about taking a trip.

I respect and thank everyone for their opinions. As of right now we have decided to take the Dawn out of NO. It is going to cost a little more but the trip is already pretty inexpensive so it is worth it. We are also goin to try and fly in on Saturday and experience bourbon street on a Saturday night. We would like to go on Friday but we will be leaving a 1 and 3 year old behind so that extra day might be a bit much.

ok so now our next order of business. My wife has been looking at excusions all day on youtube. I see it mentioned on here to not book it through NCL and wait till you get there. I see most of them are about 99 a person so we will be spending $400. Since this is our first time do you think it is just best to have them set up in advance or should we wait? I have heard horror stories where people go out on their own and the taxi people basically threaten to strand them if they dont pay more.

On cruise critic you will find the PORTS OF CALL boards, near the bottom of the main page. There look at what people have done, what tours they recommend and other things to do DYI.

Also join your ROLL CALL and see if people are looking to fill private tours, to share the cost and be cheaper.

I have only done one ship's tour in all the cruises I've done. I've hired taxis at the port and had no troubles, I've never missed a ship and I've done stuff on my own. You need to know what you are comfortable with.

Ive done both ships and the western carribean itinerary. You can't go wrong with either

Airfare may be deciding point. Found airfare fromAlbany N,Y. to Nola to be quite high but.. if you want to spend a few extra days on vacation its a great place to be

Staying the night never really occurred to us. I was thinking about flying in in the morning and going right to the ship. It says it departs at 4pm, is it not advisable to do that?

Highly advisable to fly in minimally the day before. Experienced cruisers swear by this. Having personally made embarkation with 15 minutes to spare by flying in the same day--- too stressful.

Tampa vs. NOLA -> NOLA wins ! The city is called the Big Easy for a reason. Do spend some time there pre-or- post cruise.

Garry

Highly advisable to fly in minimally the day before. Experienced cruisers swear by this. Having personally made embarkation with 15 minutes to spare by flying in the same day--- too stressful.

 

Tampa vs. NOLA -> NOLA wins ! The city is called the Big Easy for a reason. Do spend some time there pre-or- post cruise.

 

Garry

I am really glad that I posted that. We didn't even consider flying in the day before. I am not used to taking a vacation that is time sensitive. Any other vacation, if the plane is late it is just an inconvenience. With a cruise you miss your vacation.

We have decided to fly in as early as possible on Saturday. Spend the evening doing NOLA on a crazy Saturday night and get on the ship ASAP.

That leads me to my next question. I have heard from others that if a cruise is scheduled to leave at 4pm then you have to be on 2 hours early. I read earlier that you can sometimes get on as early as noon. If you are on by noon, do you get your room right away and are activities and food open already? Instead of paying for lunch prior to leaving it would make sense to eat for free as early as possible.

Have never sailed from Tampa, but found NOLA was fantastic. There are several hotels withing walking distamce of the port.

We have always flown the day before. Scared to death of the vagaries of airline schedules. A 2 or 3 hour flight delay on cruise day can really cause heart palpitations.

Fly in, enjoy a nice dinner, get a good night's sleep, have coffee and beignets for breakfast and go to embarkation relaxed.

We love flying in the day before, especially living north of the border. If perchance you're looking for something fun to do on the Saturday evening, and if you enjoy dueling pianos you could pop into Pat O'Briens. I'll put the link here just in case:

http://www.patobriens.com/patobriens/neworleans/

Enjoy your cruise. :D

That leads me to my next question. I have heard from others that if a cruise is scheduled to leave at 4pm then you have to be on 2 hours early. I read earlier that you can sometimes get on as early as noon. If you are on by noon, do you get your room right away and are activities and food open already? Instead of paying for lunch prior to leaving it would make sense to eat for free as early as possible.

The ship will likely start boarding around 11:30 or so. You can get there before that to get checked in. Yes, definitely eat lunch on the ship! That is what most people do, then explore, etc. You will leave your bags with a porter to be delivered to your stateroom. You can keep a carry-on with you while waiting for your cabin to be ready. They are usually ready around 1PM.

We like the Sun very much. She is our favorite ship after the Pearl (although I've never been on a ship that I didn't like). The Sun is a smaller ship with a more personal and familiar feel about it. It also has the Great Outdoors grill and eating area that we really like and the Spinnaker forward bar/ observation lounge that we really enjoy. The Dawn doesn't have either. The Sun has excellent mini suites, pool deck forward. I vote for the Sun.